World Malaria Day!!

Hello again,

Yesterday was World Malaria Day, where people from all around the world learned about malaria in their communities. In my village of Chibobo, we held an event at our clinic. There was singing, dancing, drama, and lessons including facts and myths, what malaria does to the human body, and proper net use and care. In total there were 55 people who came together to learn and share their stories. We gave 3 nets away as prizes!!! The drama group even poked fun at my counterpart and I, acting that they were giving a health talk :). They continued to show one family who choose to take the advice and use a mosquito net and another family who did not. The drama was funny and even heart felt when one of the family members fell sick and passed away from malaria. They stressed the importance of going to the clinic right away at the first sign of symptoms.

We had a good day and I'll try to get the pictures up soon.

Stomping Out Malaria in Africa is a Peace Corps initiative that uses strategic partnerships, targeted training Volunteers and intelligent use of information technology to support the local malaria prevention efforts of over 3,000 Volunteers in sub-Saharan Africa. For more information go to stompoutmalaria.org and follow Stomp activities at http://www.facebook.com/StompOutMalaria.

Hello everyone,

This is world Malaria month and Peace Corps Volunteers are trying the spread the word about malaria in Africa. According to the UNICIF website, 4 million Zambians are affected by Malaria each year. Approximately 4500 people die from malaria in Zambia and of those 50% are children under the age of 5. Also, malaria makes up 20% of all maternal deaths. The important thing to remember is that malaria is preventable and treatable. This is why PC volunteers among others are pushing to educate their communities and anyone who will listen. This includes sleeping under an Insecticide Treated Net (ITN), wearing long clothing that protects from mosquitoes, staying inside from dusk until dawn when malaria carrying mosquitoes are feeding, and draining pools of stagnant water. Also, it is important to spread the word about prevention of malaria during pregnancy. Because the malaria parasite attacks the placenta and women often falsely test negative during pregnancy, taking Intermittent presumptive treatment (IPTp) called Fansidar is very important. Some of the outcomes of placental malaria include low birth weight, preterm delivery, intrauterine growth retardation, fetal anemia, congenital malaria, and fetal mortality (Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine).

In the effort to teach about malaria in Zambia, PCV’s are working hard to earn points for malaria related activities. This blog earns my province (Central) 10 points! In addition, I have worked with my communities youth group to educate about malaria 15 points, write a malaria song 30 points, perform a sketch about malaria prevention 20 points, and change my facebook picture 5 points. I am also planning a malaria event on the 25^th of April. My counterpart along with clinic staff and neighborhood health workers will demonstrate the proper way to hang, sleep under, care for, and repair a mosquito net, talk about the importance of completing malaria medication, protecting children, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems from malaria, draining pools of water around public areas such as boreholes etc. It is also important to dispel common myths about malaria including that it is spread from drinking dirty water.

Thank you for your help and for taking the time to read about our efforts. Let’s keep working to STOMP out malaria!!

Stomping Out Malaria in Africa is a Peace Corps initiative that uses strategic partnerships, targeted training Volunteers and intelligent use of information technology to support the local malaria prevention efforts of over 3,000 Volunteers in sub-Saharan Africa. For more information go to stompoutmalaria.org and follow Stomp activities at http://www.facebook.com/StompOutMalaria.

Back in Zambia

I made it back to Zambia yesterday morning despite a few challenges. I missed my flight out of South Africa and ended up staying the night in the airport….scary!! All the security leaves at 12 and most of the lights go out but people can still walk in off the streets!! Luckily there was a 24hr coffee shop and I found another lady who missed her flight and we chatted most of the night. Still a little sleep deprived. I found out she was a volunteer in Malawi a few years ago and now is married to a Dr. She is a teacher at a private school. We were talking about how events in life can change your whole future. I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately, what I want out of life. Intense to think about sometimes and gives me a panic attack now and then haha! People tell me that it’s normal though :)

I made it to the PC house yesterday afternoon in record time once I got the first hitch out of Lusaka. He was a business man who told me he usually drives alone but his radio died that morning and he wanted the company LOL. Lucky me; at least he didn’t make me sing….. We chatted all about PC and every topic from politics to music. He even bought me a soda and something to eat!

I’ll be heading back to my site on Monday. I’ll picking up the puppy too. Can’t wait to see her!

Until the next time I post J

Cheers!!

Hello everyone,

Right now I'm back in the USA in my home state of Maine. I've been here since February 1st thanks to friends and family who generously gave to my “get home” fund. It has been so nice to visit; I was missing home very much! For the past 24 hours or so we've been in the middle of a snow storm. I'm missing that warm African sunshine :) As nice as it has been visiting, I'm looking forward to getting back to Zambia and continuing with my service. When I left, the Neighborhood Health Committee (NHC), was preparing to conduct a village inspection of all catchment areas in Chibobo. The purpose of this is to identify the living conditions and individual needs of villagers. The inspection form asks questions such as the number and condition of mosquito nets, the number of family members including the number of children under 5 yrs of age, and the overall health of the family. This information will be very helpful in trying to obtain more nets and other resources. Also, the community is starting a garden at Chibobo Health Post. Before leaving, I gave the clinic officer seeds to get them started. We plan to use the produce as income for the NHC and to conduct cooking demonstrations during under5 clinics. I think this will be a good exercise to teach members of the village about eating a balanced diet. We can also talk about business skills including making a profit from your work.

When I get back to the village I would also like to start working with the Basic School. I have been asked to run the schools Anti AIDS club. I'm hoping to start this with the 7-9^th graders.

In addition, I would like to start working with the various woman groups and girls on empowerment and gender equality. The goal is to talk about peer pressure, self esteem, planning for the future, and to answer any questions they might have for me. While I'm back in America I've been trying to research the cost to have t-shirts made as prizes for attending. My counterpart and I would like them to say “Girl Power” in both English and Bemba=(amaka abanakashi).

Finally, I hope to start brainstorming for skit ideas. People are very interested in giving important information on HIV/AIDS, malaria, family planning, child and maternal health, etc. through drama. Infact, just before I left, members of the drama club performed during a meeting. They even had someone playing the part to ME, the volunteer. It was very funny and I think they would enjoy doing more of them for the community.

Below are a few pictures of my time in Zambia. Enjoy :)!!

Camp Glow in November

 January training in Lusaka (cooking demos)

February at Health Ministry Project

My puppy Jazzy!!

My backyard

The biggest snail I've ever seen!!!

ME!! :)

 

It's almost Thanksgiving

A lot has happened here in Zambia since my last post. Now, I am living in the village of Chibobo in Central Province. I have been at my site and adjusting to my new living arrangement for a little over 1 month. I can say with certainty that I love my site and the people of my community. They have been so warm and welcoming and are ready to start working. So far I have met with the local school, clinic, orphanage, and several women’s groups. I’ve been working to learn the village’s health concerns. So far I have found people are most concerned with HIV/AIDS, malaria, nutrition, and child and maternal health.  Right now malaria is on the increase due to higher rain fall. When talking with the clinic staff I was told there had been over 50 cases of malaria for the month of November (this was on the 8^th)! I can see many areas where I can help the people here and motivate them to want to continue when I leave.

Recently I was sitting on the front step of my house and saw some visitors walking up. They were from Finland and the Green Living Movement that promotes conservation farming. They were with a reporter from ZNBC who was doing a documentary on the farming practices. I was able to tag along while they filmed in the fields. I learned all about their organization and that my host has been to many different parts of Africa in promotion of conservation farming. GLM is providing trees for free that the farmers can plant alongside their crops. The roots from the trees provide nitrogen into the soil. This makes it possible for the farmers to not use fertilizers and chemicals. The organization is also helping with income generating projects such as keeping goats, chickens, and pigs. I hope to be able to work with them in future projects.

Today, I biked the 12k from my site to the paved road and hitched a ride into Serenje Boma. The next three days are Peace Corps Provincials and Thanksgiving. The volunteers all get together and pitch in to make a dinner. Tomorrow we are cooking the sweets!! This will be my first ever holiday season away from home and family. As difficult as that will be its nice we volunteers can be together for Thanksgiving. I have a lot to be thankful for this year. I’m thankful for the opportunity to be in Zambia and learn from this culture, to meet and make new friends, for my health, and for the support of friends and family. I’ve had a lot of time to be by myself with no distractions and learn what things are really important. I know that being here is so much easier when I have the love and support from back home. Tom, my boyfriend, has been a wonderful support as well as my mother who sends me packages without fail. I love you both very much. I hope to be seeing you in February. I’ve created an account online called “Help Bri Get Home” that friends and family can contribute to. As a volunteer I only receive enough money for food and basic necessities. If anyone can help me in funding a ticket home I would be so appreciative!  

http://fundrazr.com/campaigns/8OIv3

I will try to post soon. I have limited access at my site but I may have found my signal sweet spot. It’s a tree about 50ft from my hut; it and I have become quite close J

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Love Bri

Sept. 9^th

The news of late is that I’ve been told my site will be in Central Province in the district of Serenje. I have also been able to meet my host counterpart.  He is a very sweet 65yr old man and an organic farmer. We had a great talk on climate change. He shared with me his 65yrs of observations on the topic and how the area where he lives has changed from when he was a child. He told me the weather is hotter, there are less water sources, and the air is not as clean as when he was a boy. It was wonderful listening to him and I was amazed that I found someone in rural Zambia who shares my concerns.

Hey, I'm sitting in an internet cafe right now in Lusaka. I just hit the one month mark in Zambia!! At this time I'm in pre-service training learning about health in the rural communities as well as how to speak Bemba. I have been living with a host family in the rural area of Mulungushi village. My family has 5 children from ages 15-1.5yrs. I'm still adjusting to living with a host family but for the most part it has been a very rewarding experience. On a typical day I have about 13 miles of biking to do to get to my training site and back. This was hard at first but I'm getting better and making the trip faster everyday. Yesterday I visited a rural health clinic and was able to deliver a health talk to some of the mothers. I was also able to weigh the babies and track their growth since birth. I have been surprised by the amount I'm able to do here despite not having a health background. I'm very excited to get to my site and start working with the community. Some of the projects I've been thinking of starting are income generating activities such as off season gardens run by women or girls.
Best wishes Bri